In the Blink of an Eye
by yanks2478
Summary: JD, Some vague Season 6 spoilers. What happens when Donna accepts a new job outside of the West Wing?
1. Default Chapter

_I don't understand why life can't be simple. I don't understand why tragedies breed emotions. I don't understand why I had to be stubborn and move a million miles from home. I don't understand why I couldn't bring myself to visit my family more often. I don't understand why I'm not two weeks away from the big 3 – 0 and still single with zero prospects. And I don't understand why my boss is staring at me out his office door. _

"Yes?" Donna asked Josh as she spun around in her rolling chair.

"I need that file for the thing," Josh said. "Uh….what were you doing?"

"Writing in my journal," Donna said smiling. "It's on the computer and I keep it on a disk that I carry with me at all times. I don't even keep a copy on my hard drive at home," she assured him. "No traces," she said with a sad smile.

"I wasn't presuming anything," he told her.

"I was just saying – I don't want anything like the Cliff thing to ever happen again," she told him. "Sometimes….sometimes it's just easier to get things out on the keyboard, ya know?"

"Whatever you need, Donna," Josh smiled as he walked past Donna's desk and grabbed the needed file from her extended hand. "I'll be back by 7," he told her.

"I'll be here," she sighed and spun back around to answer the phone. "Josh Lyman's office," she said dutifully into the receiver.

_"Donna?" Leo asked just to be sure._

"Leo," she smiled. "How are you? We've all been worried sick," she told Josh's boss.

_"I'm alive," Leo smiled. "And how are you, kiddo?" he asked._

"Alive as well," she smiled.

_"I'm out of the hospital," Leo boasted._

"I'm outta my wheelchair," Donna bragged.

They both laughed.

_"How's everything?" Leo asked._

"Good," Donna smiled. "CJ's adjusting and Toby's managing the Press okay."

_"Right," Leo nodded. "He can't do much worse than he's done so far."_

"True," Donna agreed.

"_How's Josh?" Leo asked_.

"Worried about you," Donna answered. "And me," she admitted. "He feels so guilty about everything that's happened and there's no talking him out of it."

_"That kid always wants to take the world on his shoulders," Leo sighed. "You know he calls everyday – like three or four times?"_

"He insists on making me leave by 8 PM usually under his watchful eye," Donna added. "He calls me randomly at home to make sure I'm okay and he checks in on me here when he's out of the office more than a couple of hours."

_"He cares about you," Leo said simply._

"He cares about you, too," Donna smiled.

_"I heard through the grapevine that Russell's office wants him," Leo said more seriously._

"He hasn't mentioned it," Donna said honestly. "But Josh loves the Administration," Donna said. "He's loyal."

_"He's a political operative and the Administration is all dried up," Leo explained._

"He'd have mentioned it," Donna insisted.

_"I'm sure he would've," Leo said, clearing his throat. "Just take care of yourself and let him know I'm okay. Mallory's coming over tonight so he doesn't need to call."_

"I'll let him know," Donna smiled. "Take care, Leo."

_"You too, Donna. Good night, my dear," he smiled as he hung up and shook his head._ "Josh," he muttered. "What are you doing?" he wondered out loud.

"Donna?" he bellowed as he rounded the corner of the bullpen on the way to his office.

"Yes?" she asked, limping around from her desk to greet him. She couldn't wait to regain full use of her legs. She missed keeping step with him in one of his boasting moods.

"I am a god," he proclaimed. "All the little people of the world should bow to me and be in awe of my mere existence."

"I'll be sure to send out that memo," she replied dryly. "What did your greatness do now that will surely have the world shouting your praises?"

"That's more like it," he said with a wink as he made it around his desk and flopped in his chair. "Sit, my dear Donna. Sit down and hear how your boss is the greatest man in all of the land," he ordered with a dimpled grin.

"Do tell, o' great one," she giggled.

"I bested two of the Republicans' top guys today in what one might call a dual of sorts," he smirked. "It was like a game of chicken and like the master I am I didn't blink first. I got everything we could've asked for in this bill. Everything! It was more than Leo could've even hoped for. CJ was impressed as hell. The President will probably exert and executive order making tomorrow "Joshua Lyman Day" or something equally special," he smiled. "Now," he nodded. "Now, you may praise my almightiness."

Donna laughed and clapped approvingly. "Well done, Josh," she smiled. "I'm glad you were so successful. Leo will be pleased."

"I should call him to spread the good news," he said, reaching for his phone.

"Wait until tomorrow," Donna suggested. "He called earlier to let you know that Mal is going to be there tonight so you didn't need to check in on him," she told him.

"This is what's called bragging, Donna," Josh felt the need to explain.

"Whatever it is, do it in the morning," she smiled. "It'll keep," she promised.

"It will," he nodded. "Brilliant idea, Donna. Now I can keep the excitement going another day!"

"You're ridiculous," she said, shaking her head as she rose from the chair. "We should get going, don't you think?" she asked gathering her things, knowing he'd oblige her.

"As you wish," he bowed sarcastically and flipped off the lights on their way out.

* * *

Once at home, Donna looked up Will's cell number. "Will? It's Donna Moss."

_"How're you doing?" Will asked, rolling back in his chair in his dimly lit office._

"I'm good," she smiled. "I'm happy to be back in the swing of things again."

_"We all missed you," Will smiled. "Josh was a wreck and a pain in the ass, if you don't mind my saying."_

"I don't mind at all," she laughed.

_"What can I do for you Donna?" Will asked, trying to ascertain the cause of her call._

"Have you guys approached Josh to work for your campaign?" Donna asked.

_"Why don't you ask Josh?" Will asked._

"Because I don't want to appear to be nosey," Donna sighed.

_"So, you're snooping around behind his back," Will laughed._

"Yes," Donna confirmed. "Just tell me," she said exasperated.

_"We've asked him to head up our campaign," Will confirmed Leo's earlier statement._

"I want to help – with the campaign I mean," Donna blurted out.

_"Donna," Will sighed. "We only just asked him…"_

"Will," she said firmly. "I can do many things," she said. "I think….I think I would be very…very helpful."

_"I'm sure you would be Donna," Will smiled. He'd secretly wanted to snag Donna for a press position; he just wanted to wait until he had Josh's status confirmed._

"I know I might not have the little certificates or anything that others might have," she sputtered.

_"Stop," he told her. "Donna, you're great. We'd love to have you on board. I think you'd be excellent in the press department."_

"I would?" she giggled. "You think?"

_"I know," he smiled._

"I'd have to see what Josh thinks," Donna hedged a minute.

_"Donna," Will interrupted. "We want you for you and to help us – not Josh."_

"But what would he do?" Donna asked.

_"You're hired, Donna," Will told her._

"Thanks," she smiled unsurely.

_"Good night," he told her and hung up the phone only to have it ring again immediately._

"Hello?" he asked with a sigh.

_**"Will," Josh smiled. "Bad news, buddy."**_

"What?" Will asked, fearing that he knew the answer already.

**_"Russell…he's not it for me," Josh told him honestly. "I need to be working for someone who's the real thing. Russell's not it."_**

Will smiled and shook his head. "I figured. Santos?" he asked.

**_"Santos," Josh smiled._**

"It's gonna be tough," Will told him.

_**"You can come work for me when you lose," Josh offered with a smirk.**_

"I might take you up on that offer," Will laughed.

_**"Have a good night, man," Josh smiled and hung up.**_

Will shook his head. "He's gonna flip out!"


	2. Last Night Held Much Promise

"Donnatella Moss!" Josh's voice bellowed through the bullpen the next morning.

"Yeah?" she asked sitting on the corner of his desk. "What's up?"

"Do you not have a desk of your own?" he asked with a grin.

"In fact I do," she smiled back. "But your desk is so….um…not cluttered that it seemed I should just sit on this corner," she motioned to where she was sitting, "instead of on my own, which is covered in mounds of your work."

"Anyway," he sighed, as he fell back in his chair. "How was your night?" he inquired.

"Fine," she smiled. "Yours?"

"Excellent," he grinned. "Donna – I've decided…" he started.

"No wait," she smiled. "I have something to say too," she nodded.

"Mine affects us both," he insisted.

"Me too," she grinned.

"Okay," he nodded at her enthusiasm. "Mine will trump yours, but whatever."

"I'm going to work on the Vice President's presidential campaign," she beamed.

"You're what?" he asked, shocked and confused. "When did this happen?"

"Last night. Right after you dropped me off. I called Will and he offered me a job!"

"He did?" he smiled tersely. "That's just great."

"It is, right? I was so thrilled," she smiled. "Now I can still work with you."

"How do you figure?" he asked.

"Leo said that you were going to work for Russell," Donna said slowly. "He said he'd heard it around."

"I was asked to run Russell's campaign," Josh nodded.

"And you didn't even see fit to tell me," she shook her head. "I had to find out from Leo."

"I didn't tell you because there was nothing to tell," Josh told her, his voice rising a bit.

"Josh," she shook her head. "Leaving this Administration is big news. I could have been left jobless or something equally horrible," she pouted. "But," she smiled. "I fixed it!"

"I'm not working for Russell," Josh said in a low, even voice.

"What?" she asked. "Will said he asked you…"

"He did," Josh nodded, clearing his throat. "He asked. Last night I turned him down."

"You turned him down? But Leo said you were an operative and that you were in it for the fight and all that. Josh," she whispered. "This is your job. How could you say no to an opportunity to elect a president?"

"I didn't," he said simply. "I'm just not working for Russell. He's not the real thing."

"Not what?" she asked.

"President Bartlett is the real thing. He has his faults and he had his secrets, but genuinely, he's the real thing," Josh shrugged. "Russell's just….not."

"So you're just going to stick around till the end of the Administration? And then what?" she asked, furious.

"Donna," he shook his head. "I turned Russell down because I had a better offer from someone who is the real thing," he smiled. "Congressman Santos."

"I thought he didn't even want to run for reelection," Donna said.

"He didn't. He doesn't. President Santos sounds so much better," Josh grinned. "And he's enlisted me to make it so."

"You're running Santos' campaign?" she asked slowly.

"I am," he confirmed.

"And I'm working for Vice President Russell," she murmured.

"It appears that way," he nodded.

"I was so excited to be working with you still," she shook her head. "I thought that I beat you to the punch."

"I was excited to tell you my news – our news. Of course Santos wants you to," Josh told her quietly.

"I have a job with Russell," she told him.

"I could get you out of it," Josh offered.

"For Santos," she started. "I'd be your assistant?" she asked.

Josh nodded. "Yeah."

"For Russell I'd be working in the press department," Donna told him, looking him in the face for the first time in what felt like forever. "That's a step up from assistant, right?"

Josh smiled at her, his eyes not quite shining, "Yeah, Donna," he murmured. "That's a step up alright."

"So I should probably take it, right?" she asked.

"Professionally?" he asked. "Absolutely." "Personally?" he smirked. "Nope. I'll miss you too much."

"One day you won't be around to miss me, though," Donna said quietly. "I think I have to do this," she told him. "I need to worry about my future."

"Donna," Josh sighed. "I am always thinking about your future. I'd never _not_ take care of you."

"I know," she smiled sadly. "I think _I_ need to take care of me for a change," she told him, thinking back to her conversation with CJ during the lockdown.

"Two week notice starts today, huh?" he asked.

She reached into her notebook and pulled out 4 sealed envelopes. "One for you, one for Leo, one for CJ and one for the President," she explained. "I didn't know exactly who to send it to."

Josh nodded and accepted her letters and tossed the one addressed to him on the desk. "C'mon," he nodded to the door. "Let's go see CJ and get this over with now."

"Can't you just go?" she asked. "I have a lot of work to get done here this morning…"

"Move it," he said. "It'll be fine."

"Josh," she whispered following him out of the door into the bullpen. She spoke so quietly that he almost didn't hear her.

"Yeah?" he asked stopping, but not turning around to look at her. His eyes closed instinctively when her fingers curled around his around to hold him from going any further.

"I'm sorry," she offered. He could hear the evident tears in her voice. "I really am sorry," her voice continued to tremble.

"It's nothing personal," Josh told her as he let out a sigh. "It's politics. These things happen all the time."

"It's never happened to me before," Donna said simply. "I just wanted you to know that I didn't mean for it to be this way."

"C'mon," Josh said, shaking his head. "We have to see CJ." He started to walk away again.

"Josh!" she called out to him, her voice was filled with worry.

Josh took a deep breath and turned around with a smile on his face, because that's what she needed to be okay. "CJ has a meeting soon and I'd hate to resign when she's in a bad mood, wouldn't you?" he joked. "Let's get this over with and then we can work on cleaning up your desk or something."

"We're okay?" she asked seriously.

Josh looked at her for a moment – her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were glassy and questioning and she was chewing on her bottom lip. She looked just like the scared girl that hired herself as his assistant 8 years earlier. "We're always going to be okay," Josh promised her – and himself.

She launched herself into his arms and he reciprocated by holding her tightly. "So, we're okay?" she asked again, into his shoulder for reassurance.

"Unless we miss CJ and have to tell her when she's really unhappy that we're quitting," Josh joked to lighten the mood.

"Okay," she nodded.

* * *

"You're going to work for Santos?" CJ asked glancing at Josh's resignation letter and then returning his eyes to Josh and then drifting them over to Donna – then quickly back to Josh. "The both of you?"

"Well, actually just me," Josh said clearing his throat.

"Then what's this?" CJ asked looking at an envelope with Donna's handwriting scrawled on the front of it.

"I'm leaving too," Donna said, her voice small and unsure. "I've been offered a job with the Vice President."

"Wait," CJ said, sitting down in her chair. "You're going to Santos," she said looking at Josh, "and you're going to Russell?" she asked looking at Donna.

"Yes," Donna and Josh mumbled at the same time.

"You left him?" CJ asked Donna with a grin. "Score one for the sisterhood," she said raising her hand for Donna to high-five.

"I'm still standing right here," Josh said, clearing his throat.

"Donna!" CJ smiled, ignoring Josh's whining and opening Donna's letter. "The Press Department? You're stumping around my old turf," CJ beamed. "Let me know if you need any help or anything."

"Yeah," Donna nodded, not meeting CJ's eye.

"Are you making her feel bad about this?" CJ asked, glaring at Josh.

"No," Josh said shaking his head.

"He's not," Donna chimed in. "It's just a shock. We both discovered that we wouldn't be working together this morning. Just before coming to see you."

"This is a good thing," CJ smiled at the both of them. "For you. Not so much a good thing for us," she grinned. "Now I have to tell the President that my deputy and his faithful assistant have flown the coop."

"You knew it was coming," Josh told her.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I've been waiting for it a little."

"Okay," Donna forced a smile. "Are we done?"

"We're done," CJ confirmed with a nod as Donna spun on her heels and headed for the door.

"I'll be at my desk, Josh," Donna told him. "Thanks, CJ," she said with a small smile.

"What'd you do?" CJ asked Josh as Donna left the room.

"I accepted a job with Santos and not Russell," Josh shrugged sitting down in one of CJ's visitors' chairs.

"And?" CJ pressed.

"And, she thought I was going to work for Russell, so that's why she got Will to hire her. She was afraid that I was going to leave her here or something. So, she got hired so that we'd still be able to see each other all the time," Josh shrugged, absently tapping on Gail's fish bowl.

"Leave her alone," CJ's eyes narrowed at Josh.

"I didn't do anything to Donna," Josh protested.

"I meant Gail," CJ sighed. "But Donna too."

"Again, I didn't do a thing to her," Josh sighed.

"You'll miss her," CJ observed.

"Of course I will," Josh scoffed back. "She's been a constant for me for like 8 years."

"You told her you'd miss her?" CJ asked.

"Yes," Josh sighed. "But I told her professionally that it was a move that needed to be made."

"She idolizes you, you idiot," CJ seethed. "How could you make her feel bad?"

"She should've waited. I would have made sure she was taken care of," Josh said, frustrated.

"She's a big girl," CJ observed. "Maybe she wanted to take care of herself for a change."

"She might have mentioned something along those lines."

"I don't know how to manage my life anymore," Josh said quietly.

"You managed okay before," CJ observed.

"But I don't know how to do it anymore," Josh said again.

"You'll figure it out. You'll get another assistant. Maybe Donna can help train them?" CJ offered.

"I don't know what to do," he shook his head. "I don't know what to do."

"Don't hold her back," CJ told him. "She deserves this shot."

"I'm going to beat Russell," Josh told CJ. "I don't play to lose."

"I know," CJ smiled. "Santos is a good candidate."

"He's the real thing," Josh confirmed.

"Well, then you win it for us," CJ smiled.

"And Donna?" he asked.

"Make sure she gets a nice job in the new administration," CJ smiled. "And be sure that she has an assistant."

"I don't know if I know how to do this," Josh told CJ honestly.

"You can do it. It's what you do. You love the fight," CJ encouraged.

"I gotta go back to the office. Donna's got mounds of work on her desk. I promised I'd do the stuff I've been ignoring," he said as he stood up.

"Have fun," CJ smiled as he left her office.


End file.
